LME aluminium jolts the market as cash offer slides to $3,110 per tonne

On January 30, which is the close of the week, the London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminium prices showed a significant dip in its contracts and futures prices. The declining trend has also been observed in the LME inventories as well. 

The LME cash bid dropped from USD 3,323 per tonne to USD 3,109 per tonne, with a difference of USD 214 per tonne ot 6.4 per cent. Similarly, the cash offer fell from USD 3,325 per tonne to USD 3,110 per tonne, reflecting the price moving down by USD 215 per tonne or 6.5 per cent. 

Also read: LME cash offer recovers with a 2.9% increase while inventories continue on with a slight dip

A similar trend is seen in the 3-month forward contracts, where the bid shifted to USD 3,132 per tonne from USD 3,325.5 per tonne, with a difference of USD 193.5 per tonne or 6 per cent. Concurrently, the LME 3-month offer fell to USD 3,134 per tonne from USD 3,326 per tonne, showing a difference of USD 192 per tonne or 5.8 per cent. 

At the futures contracts, the December 27 bid and offer inched down by USD 105 per tonne or 3.3 per cent, where the bid reached 3,068 per tonne from USD 3,173 per tonne and the offer to USD 3,073 per tonne from USD 3,178 per tonne. 

Don’t miss out- Buyers are looking for your products on our B2B platform

From the previous day’s close, the LME Asian Reference Price also fell by USD 74.5 per tonne or 2.3 per cent, reaching USD 3,144 per tonne to USD 3,218.5 per tonne. 

At the inventory front, the LME opening stock collapsed by 2,000 tonnes or 0.4 per cent, where on January 30 it reached 495,725 tonnes from 497,725 tonnes. The live warrant showed the difference of 2,200 tonnes or 0.5 per cent, shifting from 439,400 tonnes on January 29 to 437,200 tonnes on January 30. At the same time, the cancelled warrant, however, rose by 200 tonnes or 0.34 per cent, from 58,325 tonnes to 58,525 tonnes. 

The LME alumina platts price on January 30 stood at USD 306.93 per tonne, reflecting no change from the previous day’s close. 

To know more about the global primary aluminium industry 2026 outlook, book the report “Global ALuminium Industry Outlook 2026".